The Reckoning

When I read The Reckoning, I was impressed. Jeff Long is always to my taste, but with this book he hits a stride. There are fewer story threads than usual (usual for the detail-oriented Long, that is)and the result is a very readable, taut book that still contains plenty of plot. His characters are likable and the adventure into jungle ruins is eerie and fascinating. Long creates compelling imagery, beautiful or horrifying, and, as always, there's an impending sense of the paranormal to his words, an air of more surrounding the characters than they can see or fathom. This author understands that what we don't see is more frightening than what we do. . . And whether or not something anomalous exists within any Long book is irrelevant. His style haunts. For me, The Reckoning is the most satisfying of his books. It gave me what I crave most and I didn't even see it coming. When that happens, it's time to eat that cake, not just have it. But wait, there's more! The cherry on top: I finished The Reckoning and immediately read Scott Smith's much-touted The Ruins. Essentially, it's the same story, but The Reckoning absolutely blows The Ruins out of the water. While The Ruins is a page-turner, it doesn't satisfy and it's difficult to care if the characters live or die. The Reckoning is a good old-fashioned science/adventure thriller with three-dimensional characters to care about. That's what works for me.

Why would anyone give a book that is extremely well written and researched 3 stars or less, what book did they read?. Vivid characterization, eerie descriptions, and a gripping finale!, you can't find books this good very often. I would understand if it was anything by cliche meister Dean Koontz or one of Mr. Kings later works like 'Dreamcatcher' or the silly 'Riding the Bullet'. I was put through the suspense wringer by this haunting unpredictabley scary story. Please read everything by this author, his books are action adventure thrillers, with a horror/sci fi twist that come off completely believable.

Jeff Long has a talent for not just painting a location with his words, but painting the actual feeling of the surroundings, drawing out in literary fashion the overwhelming mysticism and dread that permeate the very fabric of his physical realms. Free lance journalist Molly Drake, on assignment for her big break with the Times, travels to modern day Cambodia to photograph and report on the U.S. Military's efforts to excavate the site of a plane crash back in the 1970's, hoping to find the remains of the pilot. She joins the team, along with two other civilians, an archeologist named Duncan O'Brian who specializes in temple restorations, and John Kleat, a development contractor who makes annual pilgrimages to Cambodia in hopes of finding the remains of his long lost brother. She also meets an old, one-legged Khmer named Samnang who is the work boss on the excavation site. She spends a month with the RE-1 unit, enchanted by the strange morning people who wander through the early mists, and by an odd gypsy boy who skirts the site like a feral dog. But when she finds American remains in a deep well, she and the other civilians are evicted from the site and sent home. While having dinner at a local restaurant with Duncan and Kleat, the gypsy boy shows up with American dog tags and says he can lead them to the burial site. Taking Samnang and three local brothers, the three set off to find out if what the gypsy boy promised was true. A long drive through the night, past a strange rain of tiny frogs, they discover ancient ruins buried deep inside the Cambodian forest, primitive and eerie, dating far before any of the ruins Duncan has studied. Conflict begins immediately, with Kleat insisting their focus be on uncovering the missing men, Duncan wanting to explore the strange city, and the locals hired by Samnang wanting to plunder the relics. It doesn't take long to discover that there is something strangely alive about this ancient place, and Molly is determined to find out what it is, in spite of the rising tensions and the threat from both a typhoon and the upcoming monsoons. She will uncover more than her story here, finding answers to her quest for her real parents and to the strange behaviors of her companions. Just as Long did with his previous work, `The Descent', he is able to paint a mystical atmosphere that literally comes alive with its creeping mists, sultry humidity, aggressive growth, and mystical ruins that crouch under the canopy of the lush jungles. I could feel the atmosphere, the sense of urgency, the dread, and the excitement that pulls Molly deep into mysterious puzzle of the missing soldiers and the city itself. Jeff Long is proving himself to be one of my favorite authors, someone I can compare to Michael Crichton with his ability to make me grab up a hardcopy the minute it is released. Enjoy!

Just finished The Reckoning last night. Jeff Long does it again! Just as he was able to pull off in The Descent (or The Ascent, or Year Zero) the characters were interesting and sympathetic, the story fast paced and intriguing, and best of all the writing fluid. The prose is gripping yet complex enough to be far above the standard fare in this kind of fiction. I've tried a couple of authors in similiar genres, and his work still impresses me the most by far. When others are forgotten, I find myself thinking about his stuff and wanting to jump in again. The Reckoning is no exception, starts and ends perfectly. My only complaint is that the author doesn't publish fast enough.

After reading Jeff Long's last book, "Year Zero", I ordered this book right away. Jeff Long has the ability to fuse the natural and supernatural without going over the top, but still capture the reader's imagination. Once again he has successfully pulled off another exciting book in "The Reckoning"! At first, I was a little leery about this book. The subject matter of recovering soldier remains in Cambodia, didn't seem all that interesting to me, until I started reading futher in the book. I was so engaged in the book during my night time reading, I wouldn't get to sleep until 1 or 2 in the morning. This was an excellent book to read. The last few chapters of the book kind of reminded me of the movie, "Sixth Sense", if you enjoyed that movie, you will enjoy this book. Thanks Again Mr. Long!